Transcript
Speaker: Retirement.
Speaker: That's what we're all aiming at, right?
Speaker: But exactly what does that mean?
Speaker: It conjures up visions of endless days of golf, drinks with little umbrellas in them on a tropical beach, feet up reading a book.
Speaker: Is that what it's all about?
Speaker: I don't think so.
Speaker: Life would get pretty dull after a while without anything meaningful to do, don't you think?
Speaker: I'm Jackie Doucette, and I'm on a mission to discover exactly what life is like beyond retirement.
Speaker: Join me while I chat with people who've already done it, who've retired to something rather than from something.
Speaker: Let's find out together exactly what's waiting for us when we say goodbye to that nine to five.
Speaker: Hi everyone, welcome to episode 244 of Beyond Retirement.
Speaker: Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Anna Harvey.
Speaker: I met Anna a couple of years ago when she was a facilitator on a short retirement preparation course that I stumbled upon.
Speaker: I really enjoyed the course and I discovered the wisdom and empathy that exude from Anna.
Speaker: I encourage you to listen to our talk about making the most of solo retirement.
Speaker: And if it may apply to you, check out our website and consider joining our program.
Speaker: I'm positive you won't be disappointed in what she has to offer.
Speaker: If you know anyone who's in the demographic Anna serves, please share the episode with them.
Speaker: You never know who might be looking for exactly what Anna offers.
Speaker: The majority of our conversation last week centered around the various aspects of life that are essential to a well-rounded, enjoyable life, whether in retirement or not, and whether you're single or not.
Speaker: Anna shared with us her life satisfaction wheel, a fairly common wagon wheel design that she gives to people for self-assessment.
Speaker: Anna calls her process, Your Life, Your Way, and the spokes of her wheel are basically the same areas of life that other guests have discussed here on Beyond Retirement.
Speaker: The various groups of people with whom we surround ourselves, family, friends, confidants, the activities we're involved in that keep us whole, things like hobbies, volunteering, contribution to community, learning,
Speaker: our health, both mental and physical, and our finances and legal needs.
Speaker: These 11 areas of potential satisfaction radiate out like spokes from what she calls the hub of self-awareness, because she feels that it's truly important to reflect on who we are and what we really want in life before we consider any actions or changes.
Speaker: I'm going to talk a little bit more about the life satisfaction wheel today.
Speaker: I've heard it called many things before, and I've seen it in a few slightly different formats, but they all have the same goal of helping you assess where you're at in various parts of your life so you can increase your satisfaction with the way things are going, if you wish to.
Speaker: My own rocking your retirement blueprint delves into this wheel of life quite deeply.
Speaker: And I identify eight main aspects of life that are intertwined.
Speaker: Love, family, friendship, social connections, health, recreation, contribution, and spirituality.
Speaker: When you look at these different areas of your life and think about how they're interconnected, it's easy to see how you can maybe work on one area and have it impact other aspects of your life, either good or bad.
Speaker: For example, learning is an important aspect of continuing to thrive as you age.
Speaker: And sure, you can learn by sitting at home at a computer or reading a book on your own, but you can also learn by taking a course at a local college or trying out a new activity.
Speaker: Both of these will also set you up to meet new people so you can improve the sociability aspect of your life and maybe even strike up new friendships too.
Speaker: The first four categories, love, family, friendship, and social connections, can change drastically in retirement.
Speaker: Hopefully the love category, your partner, spouse, significant other, is going to be there with you and you'll enjoy many years together.
Speaker: But as Anna pointed out last week, it's not the case for many people who are retiring solo.
Speaker: It doesn't mean there isn't someone significant in your life, a confidant or an extra close friend with whom you can share your more intimate thoughts.
Speaker: But if there's not someone special in your life, this is an area that will require some attention for you to thrive.
Speaker: Family ties will probably always have ebbs and swells.
Speaker: I don't think anyone gets along with all their relatives all the time.
Speaker: But knowing that these people who are connected to you are out there somewhere can help you when you need a boost.
Speaker: And friends come in all shapes and sizes, and they show up at strange times, so it's not unthinkable to find someone to be a friend at any stage of life.
Speaker: How social you are, the fourth category, will have some bearing on the range of friendships that you maintain.
Speaker: And friendships will often change in retirement.
Speaker: You may find that you drift apart because you no longer have the same activities.
Speaker: It's always good to look at ways to forge new acquaintances.
Speaker: Number five is health, and it encompasses many things, but I boil it down to diet, mental well-being, and rest.
Speaker: mostly because I put exercise in the recreation category.
Speaker: Health and recreation are often closely connected.
Speaker: Taking time for yourself, discovering a new hobby, trying out new things, these are all good for you mentally and physically.
Speaker: And we all know that as we age, sometimes we discover that our body isn't aging as gracefully as we'd like it to.
Speaker: Keeping tabs on your physical condition, as well as your mental state of mind, is a good idea as we head past that retirement post.
Speaker: I also tend to look at the last two categories together, contribution and spirituality.
Speaker: Spirituality means something different to each of us.
Speaker: Whether or not we believe in any god or some higher power, we all have something that we draw on for our inner strength, and that is spirituality, in my opinion.
Speaker: It's what gives you the drive to keep going.
Speaker: contribution to your neighbor, to your community, to the world, makes you feel good and makes you happy to be part of something.
Speaker: Each of these areas requires effort.
Speaker: You don't have to be consciously working on them all the time.
Speaker: But I think that if you spend some time considering where you currently stand in any given category, you'll find yourself also thinking of ways to move forward in that category.
Speaker: Little things like smiling at the people you meet in the street can go a long way toward improving your mental condition.
Speaker: It's really, really hard to stay grumpy if you've got a smile on your face, even if you have to force that smile for a little while.
Speaker: And when your state of mind improves, you're more likely to want to try something new or go out and see what's going on in the neighborhood.
Speaker: Both of which will increase your health, your social connections, and your recreation scores.
Speaker: See how easy that is?
Speaker: As Anna pointed out, we all do retirement differently, but we all have values, insight, and personality to bring to our life.
Speaker: Whether we end up being a solo ager by choice or by circumstance, it's up to us to prepare for and make the most of our next life chapter.
Speaker: I believe we can do this through growing our clarity, confidence, and connection.
Speaker: Being clear about who we are and what we want.
Speaker: confident about the practical needs that must be addressed when we're on our own, and connected to other people so we can learn from each other and make new friends.
Speaker: Thanks for hanging out with me today.
Speaker: Next week, I'll be speaking with Kimberly Best about resolving family conflicts and making sure there is quality, not just quantity, in our longer lifetime.
Speaker: I hope you'll join me.
Speaker: And that's it for this episode of Beyond Retirement.
Speaker: Thank you so much for hanging out with me.
Speaker: I hope you enjoyed it.
Speaker: Are you ready to start rocking your retirement?
Speaker: Head on over to www.beyondretirement.ca forward slash rocking it and sign up to plan out your own roadmap for retirement.
Speaker: Don't wait till it's too late.
